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Chelsea and Everton charged, Ivanovic cleared

Chelsea and Everton charged with failing to control their players at Stamford Bridge, but Branislav Ivanovic will not face any action.

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Written ByPeter Hanson

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Branislav Ivanovic will not be punished for his altercation with
James McCarthy at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, but Chelsea and
Everton have been charged with failing to control their players in
the Premier League encounter.

Defender Ivanovic was involved in a flashpoint during the 86th
minute of Chelsea's 1-0 victory after Gareth Barry had been sent
off for a second bookable offence.

The Serbia international put his arm around McCarthy's neck in
an aggressive manner before moving his head towards the Everton
midfielder.

Referee Jonathan Moss took no action at the time and the
Football Association have also opted against taking retrospective
action against Ivanovic, but the governing body have charged both
clubs.

"Both Chelsea and Everton have been charged by The FA for
failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly
fashion and/or refrained from provocative behaviour," read an FA
statement.

"It follows an incident in the 86th minute of Wednesday night’s
game at Stamford Bridge.

"Both clubs have until 6pm on 17 February 2015 to respond to the
charge.

"Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic will not face any
further action in relation to an incident involving Everton’s James
McCarthy in the 86th minute.

"In Premier League matches, if an incident has not been seen by
the match officials, a three-man panel of former elite referees
will be asked by The FA to review it and advise what, if any,
action they believe the match referee should have taken had it been
witnessed at the time.

"For an FA charge to follow, all three panel members must agree
it is a sending-off offence.

"In this instance, the panel did not believe the conduct was
worthy of a dismissal."

The news will be a relief to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who
threatened to walk out of the post-match press conference after
being asked whether he was thought Ivanovic could be in hot water
with the FA.

The Portuguese also refused to speak to the media in the
aftermath of Diego Costa's three-match ban for stamping on
Liverpool midfielder Emre Can.

Mourinho then accused the governing body of double standards for
not punishing Manchester United striker Robin van Persie for an
alleged elbow on West Ham's James Tomkins during last Sunday's
Premier League contest.

The former Real Madrid boss also received a £25,000 fine last
month after claiming there was a "campaign" against his side
following a 1-1 draw at Southampton in December.